Machine for configuring tubing



Jan; 18, 1944 c. L.-DE WEY ETAL F OR CONFIGURING TUBiNG 7 2 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed' Nov, 14, 1941 Jan. 18, 1944'. c DEWEY ETAL MACHINE FORCONFIGURING TUBING 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 14, 1941 "Huh" PatentedJan. 18, 1944 MACHINE FOR CONFEGURING TUBWG' Application November 14,1941, Serial No; 419,059 4 Claims. (01. 113-53) The machine of thepresent invention is designed to impart any desired configuration to ametal tube through the action of a forming tool, which is mounted toadvance toward or retreat from the axis of the tube in conformity withthe configuration or edge pattern of a templet which imparts radialmovements to the forming tool concurrently with the advancement androtation of the tube, which is held and reinforced against collapse ordistortion by a surrounding bushing located in close proximity to theregion undergoing deformation. v

The machine is designed to draw the tube and templet forwardly againstthe forming tool,

which in the present instance is in theform of a The machine of thepresent construction, which.

advances the tube rather than the tool, possesses certain advantages inspeed of operation and in close to the forward end of the tube, andthereafter the'operation may be continued throughout the entire tubesave at the extreme rear end Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the front endof the machine, taken on line t4 of Fig. 1.

The machine as a whole is mounted upon a base frame of convenientheight, comprising side walls I!) and H, and suitable cross walls l2spaced to afford a firm and rigid construction for the support of theoperating mechanism. The frame may be of any desired length, dependingupon the' length of the tubing which it is desired to configure upon themachine.

The top edge of the side wall; It! is configured to provide a beveledtrack rail l3, and the top edge of the side wall H is configured toprovide a flat rail H. The track thus provided afiords a mounting forthe fixed and movable portions of the machine structure.

At the forward end of the machine is mounted 'a spindle carriage unitI5, comprising a base plate l6 having depending ribs or flanges l1 whichlie within therails l3 and 14. The base plate near its forward edgeisgrooved to afford a v-shaped channel I 8 which receives the. beveledrail l3, and on the opposite side, the edge portion of the base platerests flatwise upon the surface of the rail M. The base plate is held insliding relation upon the rails bythe provision of clamps l9 held inplace by bolts 20, which arrangement permits the base plate with thethereof, so that short end sections only of the tube need be cut awayand discarded as waste material.

The arrangement also is advantageous in that it permits a few section oftubing to be introduced into the machine immediately behind the tail endof the tube undergoing deformation, and while the chuck, carriage andassociated parts are being returned to position to engage the newlyinserted tube section, which arrangement tends to speed up theoperation.

Further objects and details will appear from the description of theinvention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure1 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the machine of the presentinvention, showing the base frame partly broken away;

Fig. 2 is va plan view of the machine, showing the deforming roller andassociated, parts in section;

on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

mechanism carried thereby to travel endwise along the track.

The carriage unit base plate supports a standard 2|, which affords 'amounting fora motor 22, the shaft of which operates a chain drive 23,which in turn actuates a'gear trainfltfor imparting rotation to a chuck25 which engages the forward undeformed end of a. section of tubing T.The chuck, which is of the type known as a collet, is preferablyactuated by an air cylinder and piston assembly 26 of well known type,which when operated serves to quickly andtightly grip the leading endof'the tube. The clutch operating mechanism is of a well known type andneed not be described in detail.

' Longitudinal movement is imparted to the entire carriage unit,including. the motor, chuck, and air cylinder, through the action of ahydraulic feed ram 2?, the forward reduced end 23 of which is enteredthrough a bracket lug 29 bolted to the base plate and extendinglongitudi- ,nally at a low level through the center of the machine, andentered within a hydraulic cylinder to which is under-suitable automaticcontrol, so that a relatively slow speed of advance can be imparted tothecarriage assembly during the deforming operation, with a quick returnmovement of the parts to starting position after the configured tube hasbeen removed, and in preparation for the gripping of a new section oftubing.

It is not deemed necessary to illustrate or describe the controlmechanism for regulating the speed of advance and return of thehydraulic ram, since such mechanism is of standard type and wellunderstood in the art. Furthermore, it will be understood that otherequivalent mechanism for imparting longitudinal movements to thecarriage assembly may be employed in lieu of the hydraulic mechanismherein illustrated.

The rear or trailing end of the tube is supported within a ring block3!, which is preferably of wood, which closely surrounds'the tube butpermits sliding of tube therethrough to accommodate the advance of thetube under the pull of the chuck, and also to accommodate the elongationof the tube due to its reduction in diameter. The ring block issupported within a standard 32 which extends upwardly from a bridge bar33, the ends of which engage the track rails I 3 and I4. The bridge baris held in clamped relation to the track rails by clamps 34-34, which,however, permit adjustment of the bridge bar to accommodate tubingdifferent lengths.

The bridge bar at its outer end is extended to afford a mounting for aroller 35 which supports the under side of a templet beam 31 which isangular in cross section (Fig. 3), and has its forward end connected toa laterally extending bracket plate 39 carried by the base plate l6 ofthe traveling carriage unit 15. The templet beam affords a mounting fora templet 36, which as shown is formed in units or sections which arebolted to the base flange of the templet beam, so that thetemplet as awhole will travel with the chuck which advances the tube.

. The forming tool, as shown, is in the form of V a a roller 40, havinga beveled or rounded rim which stands immediately adjacent to areinforcing bushing 4| which closely surrounds the tube at a pointimmediately adjacent the region of deformation, so that deforming actionwill be confined to the evolvingshoulder of the tube immediately incontact with the forming tool,

"hear at their outer ends against a spring plate 56 and at their innerends against the slide block, as shown in Fig. 2.

In order to support the templet beam 31 against the thrust occasioned bythe in and out movements imparted to the forming tool 40, a backup roll51 is provided, which bears against the hardened face plate 58 on therear side of the templet beam. The backup roll is journaled within ballbearings 59 housed within the head 60 of a post 6! upstanding from thefar end of the bridge plate 44, which post is held in position by athrough bolt 62 and affords a rigid mounting for the backup roll, whichthus serves to maintain the line of advance of the templet beam in exactparallelism with the axis of the tube undergoing deformation, so thatthe configuration imparted to the tube will exactly conform to thepatterned edge 38 of the templet 36.

In order to permit a return movement of the spindle unit carriagewithout imparting in and out movements to the forming roller slide, the

. templet roll 5| is provided with a stem 63 which terminates in apiston located within a pneumatic cylinder 64 carried by a bracket 65,which permits the templet roll to be lifted to clear the patterned edgeof the templet in preparation for the configuring of a new section oftubing.

Operation section to be thrust forward into the chuck.

and so that the distribution of the deformation will not be extendedbackwardly into the region reinforced by the bushing.

The bushing is mounted within ball bearings I 46 which is journaled atwidely separatedpoints within ball bearings 41 carried within a slideblock 48 mounted upon a transversely extending T-shaped track '49 formedon the face of the bridge plate 44, the slide block being held inposition by flange bars 50, which underlie the head of theT-shaped-track and permit transverse movements to be imparted to theslide block and deforming roller carried thereby.

The in and out movements of the slide block 48 K are occasioned by thecontact of a vertically disnosed templet roller fir-{which is journaledthrough ball bearings 52 housed within upper and lower lugs 53 and 54outwardly projecting from the slide block. The templet roller 5! is heldat all times in firm contact with the edgeof the templet by theprovision of springs 55 which Thereafter, the chuck is clamped about theend of the tube by the operation of the air cylinder 26, and the motoris started, which imparts rotation to the tube. At'the same time, thefeed ram will be hydraulically actuated at the proper speed to impart aforward thrust to the spindle unit carriage, which thus begins toadvance, and to draw forward the templet. The advance of the templetimparts an inward thrust to the templet roll 5!, thus causing theforming roller to advance and retreat radially of the tube axis inconformity with the patterned edge of the templet.

The speed of rotation of the tube will be greatly in excess of its-speedof advancement, so that each section of the tube will be broughtrepeatedly into contact with the periphery of the forming roller whilepassing through the region of deformation. This is necessary in order toprevent appreciable grooving of the tube and to iron out the effect ofsuch grooving as the rapidly rotating tube is drawn under the edge ofthe forming roller. 7

The contact of the acting face of the forming roller against theconstantly evolving shouldered surface of the tube causes the metal byminute increments to flow down from the crest of the shoulder, which issurrounded and reinforced by the bushing, so that the deforming stressis at all times confinedto the restricted region immediately in contactwith the rounded edge of the forming roller 40, thereby preventing anybuck ling or collapse of the tube, which would otherwise occur. Theconfiguring of the tube will continue until the tube is advancedsumciently to draw it out of the supporting ring block and,

thereafter until the end of the tube has been f drawn up to or withinthe reinforcing bushing, so that very little if any waste will beoccasioned, and the configured tube will be completed by cutting off theshort stub ends-which are held in the chuck and in the bushingrespectively.

The supporting ring block 3| is provided primarily for the purpose ofpreventing the rear end of an elongated tube from whipping, and tomaintain it in a straight line of advance, so that after the configuringoperation has progressed toa considerable extent, it will no longer benecessary to afford support for the rear or trailingend of the tube,which during the terminal portion of the operation may be drawn freefrom the ring block-without developing any appreciable tendency towardlateral displacement. Furthermore, the position ofthe ring block supportmay be adjusted to any desired distance behind the reinforcing bushingto fit the apparatus for operation on tubes of diiferent lengths ordifferent degrees of flexibility.

As the trailing end of the tube undergoing deformation is drawn awayfrom the supporting ring block, the advanced end of another tube sectionmay be thrust through the ring block either manually or by suitablefeeding mechanism operated either by fluid pressure or by mechanicalappliances, so that, as soon as the previously configured tube has beenreleased from the reinforcing bushing and the tube removed, thenext tubesection may be advanced sufficiently to bring it into the bite of thechuck as it is being returned to its starting position in immediateproximity to the forming roller. In order to insure an outwardretraction of the forming roller at the beginning and ending of adeforming operation, the templet is sloped back at its ends to permitthe forming roller to assume its outermost position under the thrust ofthe springs 55.

The bridge plate 44 which carries the forming roller and associatedparts is adjustable longitudinally, and this fact, in conjunction withthe adjustability of the rear supporting ring block, permits of anydesired spacing of the operating mechanisms to best accommodate tubesections of the desired length.

Although we have shown but a single forming roller for acting upon thetube section, the struc-- ture of the machine is one which permitsduplicate rollers to be provided with a duplication of the slides,templet and associated parts, so that if desired the tube may be actedupon from opposite sides, which duplicate arrangement is sometimesdesirable in speeding up the operation and in affording contact onopposite sides of the tube. Where duplicate rollers are employed, it maybe desirable to adjust one of the rollers slightly in advance of theother and adjust its templet to provide a slightly deeper thrust, sothat the deforming action of the roller immediately adjacent thereinforcing bushing and bearing directly against the evolving shoulderwill be supplemented to a slight degree by the companion rolleroccupying a slightly more advanced position.

In the present machine the power for both rotating and advancing thetube section is applied through the chuck which grips the leading end ofthe tube section at a point beyond the area which has undergonereduction in the configuring operation so that the tube is drawn ordragged forward against the resistance of the forming roll leaving thetrailing or undeformed end, of uniform diameter, free to slidethrough'the ring block 3| tothe extent necessary to compensate for the.reduction in diameter.

This method of feeding the tubing possesses certain advantages in thesimplification of the structure and in the ease with which the tubesections may be fed into the machine as the work progresseslFurthermore, by fixedly positioning the mounting for the in and outmovements of the forming'tool, these portions of the structure, togetherwith the adjacent reenforcing bushing, can be very firmly held inposition and adequate-- ly reenforced to perform their work'withoutdanger of displacement which might occur if they were movedlongitudinally while under the heavy stress occasioned by contact withthe advancing tubing.

The machine as a whole is of simple and rugged construction toaccommodate tube sections of any desired length or to permit thetrackways upon which the working parts are. supported to be extendedifit is deemed desirable to increase the range of action of the'machine.

, Although the invention has been described with particularity as todetail, it is not-the intention,

unless otherwise specified in the claims, to limit the invention to thedetails shown, which may be modified without departing from the spiritof the invention.

We claim: 1. In a machine for configuring tubing, the combination of aframe, a spindle carriage mounted on the frame and longitudinally,movable with respect thereto, a chuck carried by the spindle carriageand adapted to fixedly grip the leading end of a sectionof tubing, meansfor advancing and returning the carriage, means for imparting rotationthrough the chuck to the tube concurrently'with the forward advancethereof; a forming tool against the rim of which.

the tubing wall is drawn by the advance of the chuck and a mountingtherefor fixed against longitudinal movement on the frame but adaptedfor in and out radial movements relative to the section of tubing tovary the position of the forming tool with respect to the axis of thetube,

able with respect thereto, a chuck carriedby the spindle carriage andadapted to fixedly grip the leading end of a section of tubing, meansfor advancing and returning the carriage, means for impartingrotationthrough thechuck to the tube concurrently with the forward advancethereof, a forming tool against the rim of which the tubing wall isdrawn by the advance of the chuck and a mounting therefor fixed againstlongitudinal movement on the frame but adaptedfor in and out radialmovements relative to the tube 1 to vary the position of the formingtool with respect to the axis of the tube, a reinforcing member fixedlymounted onthe frame in'position to closely surround the tube immediatelyad'- iacent the forming tool a ring block carried by the frame forslidably supporting the trailing end of the section of tubing, and atemplet secured to and movable with the carriage and operatively engagedwith the forming tool mountv ing for imparting in and outradialmovements spindle carriage and the tube carried thereby.

3. In a machine for configuring tubing, the

combination of a frame provided with a trackway, a spindle carriagemounted on the trackway' and longitudinally movable thereon, a chuck: Icarried bythe spindle carriage and adapted to fixedly grip the leadingend of a section of tubing in advance of the area undergoingconfiguring, a motor and gear reduction train mounted on the carriagefor imparting rotation to thechuck, ahydraulic cylinder and ramconnected with the carriage for advancing and returning. the same, aforming roller against the rim 0f-- which the tubing wall is drawn bythe advance 7 of the chuck and a transversely movable slide upon which.the roller is mounted, said slide being fixed against longitudinalmovement and adapted for in and out radial movements to vary theposition of the forming roller with respect to the axis of the tube, atemplet secured toand movable with the carriage and operatively enegaged.with the forming roller slide for imparting in and out radial movementsthereto concurrently with the advance of the spindle carriage and thetube carried thereby a ring vblock carried by thesframe' for slidablysupporting the trailing end of the section of tubing, and a retheretoconcurrently with the advance of the iniorcing member fixedly mounted inposition to closely surround, the tube immediately adjacent the formingroller.

4. In a machine forconfiguring tubing, the combination ot a frame, aspindle carriage mounted on the frame and longitudinally movable withrespect thereto, a chuck carried by the spindle carriage and adapted tofixedly grip the pleading end of a section of tubing, means foradvancing and returning the carriage, means mounted upon the carriagefor imparting rotation through the chuck to the tube concurrently withthe forward advance thereof, a slide mounted for in and out radialmovements relative to the tubing and a forming roller joumalled thereonadjustable to clear the patterned edge of the templet to facilitatereturn movements of the carriage, and a reinforcing bushing fixedlymounted in position to closely surround the tube immediately adjacentthe forming roller.

- i CLARENCE L. DEWEY.

f SYDNEY L. DEWEY.

